Brian Coddington, Communications Director, 509.625.6740
Thursday, September 21, 2023 at 10:48 a.m.
Proactive officer outreach has nearly tripled in a quarter-mile radius around Second Avenue and Division Street and calls to police have declined during the past two weeks of enforcement emphasis in that gateway area.
Officers initiated contact with individuals 279 times in and around the gateway area between September 6 and 19 compared to 101 times during the previous two weeks. Calls to police declined from 305 to 284 in that area during that period. Last week, crime reported in all of downtown dropped more than 23 percent.
“Resetting expectations takes consistent and ongoing effort by our officers to send the clear message that we have zero tolerance for lawless behavior,” Mayor Nadine Woodward said. “Our officers are committed to keeping our neighborhoods safe for everyone and we are encouraged by our early progress.”
Spokane police have made 85 arrests since beginning the enforcement effort in the blocks surrounding Second and Division. Outstanding warrants have been the basis for many of the arrests. New crimes like possession of drugs and weapons, assault, domestic violence, malicious mischief, trespassing, and pedestrian interference have also been charged.
Additionally, officers took 117 reports to document incidents or for additional follow-up during the past two weeks. Those include potential cases involving human trafficking.
“That’s a real testament to our officers and the neighborhood partners who have worked together in the interest of health and safety,” Woodward said.
The enforcement emphasis is part of an intentional plan to put new and restored guardrails alongside services to keep public spaces safe and healthy. Those include updating the City’s camping ordinance, working to enact a local drug use ordinance and a statewide drug possession law, adding more emergency night-by-night space for those who need a safe place to stay, changing the police staffing model to put more officers on patrol in neighborhoods, doubling the number of officers on patrol downtown, prohibiting gathering in parks overnight, establishing a Violent Crimes Task Force to address the most prolific and dangerous offenders, and expanding the days and hours of the Homeless Outreach Team to offer assistance and cleanup 7 days a week.
Four individuals out of about 60 contacted Sunday by police accepted a ride to the Trent Resource and Assistance Center. That was the first day of the enforcement emphasis that any of the hundreds of individuals contacted accepted the offer of assistance.
“The City will continue to devote a variety of resources toward the health and safety of our community because safety of our community is everyone’s top priority,” Woodward said.
Only 3 incidents of violent crime were reported downtown last week. Property crime remains down nearly 16% and total crime remains down more than 11% since the beginning of the year when the department doubled the number of officers downtown.
